Klippel-Feil Syndrome Blog

Well hello there, My name is Crystal-Lily, how are we all doing this fine start of July? As said before I want to go through this ever so slow, learn together. Today I will be trying my best to execute possible questions and even maybe even change your mind on how the body works. We forget so often that we are evolving everyday just like every other species on the planet. We have to evolve to suit everything around us. But we slowed down and started to stumble into staying in the same place. YOU and me are part of this very important part of evolution right now!

This now brings me to something that has been tapping on my thoughts recently. What if the very genes that shaped my spine, (GDF6, GDF3, MEOX1) could have shaped how I and other humans with Klippel-Feil syndrome experience altered states like the ones DMT (dimethyltryptamine) unlocks? Sounds absolutely crazy right?! But stay with me, lets slowly introduce ourselves to all multidimensional possibilities.

A lungful of maybe?

When you are left to your own devices to heal the uncurable, first you ignore yourself, then eventually you have to take a chance on anything. Before the breath there is stillness, but not the kind that warms your soul, the kind of stillness that weighs you down clenching and clinging to every inch of your being. July 1st began with a strong herbal calm and a molecule of mercy, not escape. My way of guiding my nervous system still ringing the day before, starting to tune in. So with the Herbal calm in tow I was creating soft groundwork for something deeper. Not just searching specifically for enlightenment and certainly not escape anymore, I wanted to listen in to my body but also receive relief from it just feeling like its attacking itself. What followed was way more than relaxation, it was a cellular explosion, a quiet internal vibration and possibly the beginning of a very real hypothesis. So can my breath heal?

Lets find out together.

GDF6: THE ARCHITECT

So starting with GDF6 (Growth differentiation factor 6) this gene is part of the BMP family which helps guide how our bones and joints form in early development. This is especially in places like the spine, skull and eyes. The GDF6 gene acts like a tiny but powerful architect, it does this by sketching and drawing out our body’s blueprint for bones and joints. This process involving the GDF6 gene helps define where one bone ends and another begins, stopping bones from fusing together where they shouldn’t be. This is where it starts to get incredibly interesting, it is also expressed in the retina and brain regions such as the hippocampus, which is the part of the brain responsible to memory and learning. which also means it could hint at the role in the sensory processing.

First possible connection, GDF6 shapes the physical structure of our spines and brainstem regions exactly where DMT (Dimethyltryptamine) has been detected in trace amounts. If DMT is a signal, GDF6 may have built the wires in which DMT travels through. We can think of GDF6 as the architect of the antenna!

Okay, stay with me, I know it is a lot to take in, but for now just listen with your spirit. We are learning together.

GDF3: THE TUNER

Now we have GDF3, this gene is a regulator of signals. it is a bi-functional protein, this means that it is A “two for one deal”. Basically it does two jobs but is one protein. So the two jobs are basically attuning growth signals turning them up or down depending on what your body needs in that moment. Being an incredible biological multitool, it is active in places like the brain, spinal cord and also developing bones. Once more playing such an important role in guiding how our embryo’s take shape, this includes guiding eyes, spine and even fat tissue.

So if GDF3 modulates our developmental signalling pathways, like the BMPs (Bone Morphogenic Proteins) and NODAL, then let’s talk about NODAL for a moment. NODAL is a signalling protein with a huge role in the early shaping of us wild, magical humans. It’s like a tiny inner guide, whispering to the embryo, “Here’s where the heart goes. Here’s where the stomach should grow.”

Isn’t that mind-blowing? All of this happening without us feeling it or even knowing, it’s the kind of miracle we stopped noticing while we were scouring the sea and building machines. We, the human race, forgot to look back at our own blueprint. But NODAL doesn’t stop there. It is also critical in helping form the nervous system, and……wait for it…..it plays a hand in how cells decide their fate, bone, brain, or gut. That’s destiny being coded in silence. So yes, GDF3 and GDF6 are both part of the TGF-β superfamily, working alongside NODAL like backstage engineers of becoming. Think of NODAL as the molecular compass guiding the earliest stages of life before we even had a heartbeat to feel it.

Second possible connection. GDF3 is active in the brain, spinal cord and ossifying bone (formation of new bones), the exact regions where DMT has been detected or is believed to flow through. So, stay with me…..if DMT is a neurochemical, which seems to be some kind of internal transmission that alters perception. HOW AWESOME IS THAT! Because even though we’re all on the same planet, we are not experiencing it the same way. GDF3 is a developmental tuner just like we spoke about earlier, now GDF3 adjusts how signals are received and interpreted within our nervous systems. So, I am not saying GDF3 makes DMT, but like I have said before everything is connected, which means GDF3 could actually shape the system that receives DMT!

Basically GDF3 may not be the voice of DMT, but it could be the ears on the inside. By the way in which GDF3 tunes our nervous systems, it could affect how DMT is heard and welcomed into the nervous system. So could humans with Klippel-Feil Syndrome be more sensitive to this neurochemical (DMT). To make this more human, imagine you’re at a festival. The music is deep, loud, and consuming, that’s the DMT signal, flooding the entire space with sound. Most people come with options, ear defenders, breaks at the quiet tent, some way to manage how much they take in. But now imagine you’re born onto the planet with a different setup, a body wired without those filters. No ear defenders. Just pure, uninterrupted sound.

That might be what it’s like if your GDF3 gene affects how open or sensitive your nervous system is to DMT. If other people’s systems gently cradle the signal, yours might lean all the way in. No middle layer. No off switch. Just direct transmission. In that space, Reality might not just bend, it might sing along with your perception of reality.

MEOX1: THE BLUEPRINTER

Next we have MEOX1 (Mesenchymehomeobox1). This gene is a master instructor, again the same as GDF6 and GDF3 it is involved in early development, telling our bodies how to build itself. Makes you wonder if we’ve been specifically designed with the way our bodies just do it without conscious instruction constantly. So this little beauty (MEOX1) has the POWER! by this i mean it can turn genes on and off like a switchboard, this guides how our tissues form. The main important job for this gene is dividing our spine into proper segments, this means laying down all those blocks that will become our gorgeous vertebrae. Helping to blueprint and map out the locations of each part of our spine, especially including our neck and upper spine (cranio-cervical region). MEOX1 also has the amazing power of activating our other genes, for example NKX3-2, this gene helps shape bones and joints. But it certainly does not stop there! MEOX1 is also involved in blood and vessel development, meaning it helps guide hematopoietic stem cells which make all of our red and white blood cells and platelets, these are essential for carrying our oxygen, fighting any infections we may get and for healing our cuts and wounds. Just the same as GDF6 and GDF3, MEOX1 helps in the guiding of the cells during early development, which means it doesn’t just shape our spines, its also involved in the process of our blood building. We can definitely go into more details on all these little segments like hematopoietic stem cells in a future post.

Third possible connection. Now mutations inside the MEOX1 gene causes Klippel-Feil Syndrome, this means that some of the vertebrae in the neck fuse together instead of separating how they are supposed to. So MEOX1 is expressed in our spinal cord, craniofacial tissues (tissues that build our skull and face) and our developing joints, but here is the KICKER! These are the regions of overlap where DMT is actually believed to act or flow through. Just like what we spoke about earlier regarding MEOX1 being involved in vascular development (system of vessels that carries blood and lymph fluid through our body) and stem cell formation, which means there is rather large possibility that MEOX1 could influence how neurochemicals like DMT are transported and metabolised by our bodies. MEOX1 is also involved in TGF-b signalling which you may recognise from earlier, it is the same pathway that regulates genes like the GDF6 and GDF3, both of which we have already connected to DMT sensitivity.

MEOX1 has been also shown to influence cellular senescence and stress response. Cellular senescence, what a strange and wonderful name, this is basically a state in which the cells can no longer divide and separate. The job of this is to maintain vascular health by the regulation of our blood flow, but what is even more incredible is it regulates our immune function, inflammation and metabolism! My point and perspective is that could this affect how the brain and body respond to really quite intense signals such as DMT. So when we spoke a little while ago about how MEOX1 guides how our tissues form, which means there is a possibility that DMT could be interacting with the very same structure MEOX1 helps build because DMT is not just a brain chemical it is a tissue based signal. Think of a theatre there is a designer for the set, that is MEOX1, it decides where the lights go, how the room carries the sound, which also means seeing how the sound echo’s or is absorbed by the room. Now the script, that is DMT and the set designer is MEOX1.

WHERE GENES MEET CHEMICALS OF CONSCIOUSNESS

GDF6, GDF3 and MEOX1 are more than just genes, they’re the architects and builders of our body’s blueprint, shaping our spines, joints, face and even the flow of blood and signals. But, see, we have found some profound and impactful commonalities. They are ALL linked to Klippel-Feil Syndrome. They ALL interact with the TGF-b signalling pathway, a molecular motorway that regulates our growth, repair and cellular communications. ANNND magically they all shape the very regions where DMT is believed to act or flow through, again the spinal cord, craniofacial tissues and vascular system.

BUT, what does all of this mean exactly?

If DMT is a tissue based signal and these 3 genes (GDF6, GDF3 and MEOX1) are the ones building tissue, especially at the embryonic stages, then maybe there is a possibility they dont just shape and change the way we experience our world. Maybe these genes influence how DMT is transported, metabolised or even perceived. Maybe these 3 genes decide how the script of DMT is read by the stage they built.

So we have:

GDF6 laying the foundations and being a beautiful architect!

next GDF3 tuning the signal and being an incredible tuner!

then MEOX1 which is designing the set and being the phenomenal blueprinter!

and last but not least DMT? This gorgeous and magical molecule……………well thats just it isn’t it DMT IS the story! The strange and wonderful, yet luminous script that plays out on the stage that these 3 wonderful genes created.

Still here? then maybe you are not just reading, maybe your genes are remembering.

But what if we have been tunnel-visioning our way through life focussing only on what is “wrong” without realising that the mutations within us might actually be a scream out for the next stage of evolution?

What if these so called “errors” are actually messages, signals from our own DNA knocking on our door of consciousness saying “it is time”?

© Crystal-Lily [2025]. All rights reserved.
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This is lived research. Respect it accordingly.

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